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News, scoops, reviews and more from TV land.
'Pretty Little Liars' re-upped, plus 'Ravenswood' spin-off
Photo credit: ABC Family
"Pretty Little Liars," ABC Family's biggest hit, just got a fifth season renewal - and no, because I know you're wondering: No word on "Bunheads" yet. (But one would assume the news will be good...one can 'assume," right?)
Meanwhile, some more news: ABC Family also announced the "PLL" spinoff, "Ravenswood" - this had been expected. Here's the throughline:
“Ravenswood” will center on a town, not far from Rosewood, PA (the home base of “Pretty Little Liars”), which has suffered under a deadly curse for generations. Five strangers suddenly find themselves connected by this fatal curse and need to dig into the town's mysterious and terrible history before it's too late for each of them. The series will premiere on ABC Family following the annual “Pretty Little Liars” special Halloween episode in October 2013.
Meanwhile, check out this ABCF clip that doesn't really tell you anything about "Ravenswood" but sends you on a social media treasure hunt to find out stuff about it...
'Dancing with the Stars:' What happened to Dorothy Hamill?
Photo credit: AP
Well, here we are for the first results show on "Dancing with the Stars'" 16th season? Isn't that exciting...?! Depends upon one's definition of the word, but "DWTS" remains very much a work in progress if last night's scores are any indication and they are.
(Although the Derek Hough/Kellie Pickler jazz routine -- good -- did indicate an intriguing new use of lightsabers. See below).
Dorothy Hamill? Almost certainly impossible for her to win now, or even place, to my surprise. I saw her as a top three or four contender, but last night was such a dramatic reversal -- 15 points out of a possible 30 -- that she now has found herself in a very deep hole. Meanwhile, check out Zendaya in this clip below -- at about three minutes in: She doesn't even clap after Hamill concludes her woeful jive. That breaks a long-standing protocol in which competitors always clap for each other here, no matter how lousy. I guess Zen thinks she won, but it's helpful for her to remember that viewer votes count, too.
Who goes tonight? Almost certainly D.L. Hughley who has a two-week total of 28, which means viewers would have had to cover an eight point spread between his score and the next lowest one.
Too bad about Dorothy. At 56, she would have been the oldest "DWTS" winner. But there's still time to reverse last night and she'll most likely get that chance next week:
Why is television tanking?
Photo credit: Fox
Why aren't people watching television? To put this more concisely, why are fewer and fewer people watching established hits ("American Idol"), established networks (NBC), and brand new shows ("Golden Boy") which get a lot of network promotional love, but not all that much audience love?
Why, why, why?
These are worrisome times in the field of network television...
Read more »Babylon native named to top job at ABC News
Local promotion alert! Rick Klein, an ABC News veteran, has just been named political director there. Klein grew up in Babylon, and graduated Babylon High in '94. (Per ABC, he lives on Capitol Hill now with wife Laine and sons Jack and Max.) This is a significant job at ABC News - any of the networks of course - and in the wake of losing Jake Tapper to CNN,.ABC has bolstered its bureau there, just...
Read more »Barbara Walters to return to 'The View' Monday
Photo credit: AP
The great and powerful Barbara Walters is back! Or will be! Monday. Mark the calenders. After more than a month away - in Barbara Walters' time, that's like five years for the rest of us - she told her colleagues via telephone at the top of this morning's show, "Hello, my darlings. I'm so glad to be talking to you. ... I really miss you." (Truth alert: Babs has been talking with them obsessively via phone; this is her show after all, and a little chicken pox isn't going to keep BW down.) As you know, the divine Ms. W had that nasty fall in D.C. just before the inauguration, then came down with chicken pox, of all things. She's been off since Jan. 22.
Could Seth MacFarlane return as host of the Oscars? Sure! (But...)
Despite what's now being pretty much cast in the context of his sexist, anti-Semitic, anti-Lincoln, anti-adult shtick as host of the 85th Academy Awards telecast on Sunday night, could Seth MacFarlane return as host of the 86th, or 87th, or 88th Oscars?
Sure! (Show biz works in funny ways - and though MacFarlane has said via Twitter he'll "never" do the show again, Ricky Gervais...
Read more »Susan Lucci says she wants to return to 'All My Children'
Photo credit: AP
Susan Lucci, easily the most famous star in "All My Children" history and one of soap history's standouts, says she wants back in and back on. She appeared on "The View" Monday morning, and said she wants to join the re-launch of the online version, beginning later this year, but...
Well, let her tell you about the "but" (but...for fans, it sort of sounds like this is going to happen; who knows though. It's usually about $$:)
Oscars' telecast gets big ratings bump
Photo credit: AP
Sorry haters: Seth MacFarlane was a hit. If ratings are any indication, and sometimes they actually are, America loved the Oscars.
ABC has yet to formally announce, but early indications via the other networks suggest that the big show last night from 8 to 11, which would include some red carpet stuff, grew by 19 percent (among young adults) over the '12 awards hosted by Billy Crystal.
[In fact, ABC has just released formal figures and they're very good -total viewership is 40.3 million, which is up 3 percent over last year, but huge spikes in male viewers - specifically young guys, who arrived in big numbers - the show's ratings for this demographic group was up 34 percent over last year.]
PHOTOS: Red carpet highlights, lowlights | See all the winning moments | Hosts through the years | 15 youngest nominees
MORE: As it happened |1928-2012 winners | Full coverage
Due in part to Seth MacFarlane -- whose shtick was relentlessly bad, except when he sang, and then it was horrible (Boobs song? Oh, fer chrissakes ... but he does have a great voice!) I would say: Yes. The curiosity factor had to be sky-high, especially among people who know what the score is with him.
But don't overlook the fact that there were some hugely popular films in the running for best picture, notably "Skyfall," and "Argo." Fans tune in to see their horse win, and the more fans of the film, the higher the telecast number.
Meet your Oscars guide: Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane. Go ahead — say the name again . . . ("Seth MacFarlane") . . . and again and again . . . for come Monday morning, he will either be the most talked about person in the country, or the most forgotten one.
Hosting the Oscars can be brutal or glorious — but it is not for the fainthearted. So, let's take a look at this intriguing fellow, shall we? Here's my profile in...
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